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I still don’t really believe that we won the game last night, not just because of the last ten seconds but because I never thought we could get close enough that a miracle would actually make a difference. But just a few thoughts:
1. We won primarily because we had more guts and determination than they did. There are other reasons but let’s be clear, that’s the main reason. At halftime, there was no reason to believe we could come back against the best team in the country, that was bigger and more athletic than us, much less on a day where we were 1 for 19 on 3s through 34 minutes or so. But we did. We wanted it more and we fought for it more. Even when it looked like all the fight was just about closing the margin and not getting us to the finish first. I don’t know whether Hurley recruits players with more desire or helps them develop the desire, but we wanted it much more than they did. Diving for loose balls, saving balls from going out of bounds, running breakaways down from behind, playing through adversity, etc.
2. We won the game because we were more experienced. It should be becoming clear to anyone who cares that it’s unlikely you’re going to win championships with the most talented players in the country because they are overwhelmingly freshmen. Scheyer is now trying to do what Calapari failed with. And there’s no reason to think Scheyer will be more successful at it given that Calapari proved he could actually coach coaching friggin UMass into a national powerhouse. While they had a team of players with little or no experience prior to this season, even with Reed and Solo on the bench for the last 10 seconds, we put out a team with 2 seniors, 2 juniors and 1 freshman (someone had to take the last shot). Experience matters, both in learning how you close games out intellectually and learning how to deal with the pressure emotionally.
3. We won the game because Hurley was the better coach. He helped keep our guys from folding after smarter kids should have given up. (I’ll be honest — I thought we were done at the half. Did not see a comeback.). And whatever defensive adjustment he made at the half — I think it was to switch less and rotate less and give up outside shots without running around so much they were all wide open at once — worked. Scheyer had nothing to get his team playing again when everyone but Cam Boozer stopped playing.
4. We won because the refs let us. Yes, there were blown calls both ways (Boozer got away with an obvious charge and Foster a flagrant on that pushoff, but Reibe got away with a flagrant when he blackened Boozer’s eye) but overall I thought they were fair. But I said before the game that, other than Cam Boozer, my biggest worry was a huge FT disparity or quick fouls on our bigs that cut into their minutes. Well, that didn’t happen. They only had 5 more FT attempts and 4 more FTs made than us, and Reed got 32 minutes in with 3 fouls and Karaban 38 minutes with 2. The refs didn’t take the game away from us. Duke came very close to beating us but the refs didn’t. Thank goodness.
Having said all that, I still don’t get how we won. They outshot us percentage wise at all three levels, they outrebounded us by 6, they had 1 more assist. Yes, we had only 5 turnovers to their 16, and 2 more blocks, but those stats in totality don’t explain the one stat that explains how we won — we got 16 more shots than them. Plus 16 in shot attemps while being outrebounded. The numbers don’t add up (or my math skills are far worse than I think). And the biggest irony of the last ten seconds — we weren’t looking to get a steal and a desperation 3 up. We were just trying to commit a quick foul and put them in a 1 and 1. Who was it that first said “I’d rather be lucky than good.”
So maybe it was just luck. And Duke fans can look at the end and Ken Pom this morning and say well, we’re better and if we got another chance we’d beat them. Even if I ignore that this was their third straight loss to us in the tourney (all in great games) and how many chances do you want, the response to that is so what. Here’s the one stat worth a damn. On Saturday evening, we play 1 game against Illinois and they play 0.
Onward. This will not be an easy game against the Illini, but I like our chances a heck of a lot more than I liked them yesterday against Duke. Go Huskies.
1. We won primarily because we had more guts and determination than they did. There are other reasons but let’s be clear, that’s the main reason. At halftime, there was no reason to believe we could come back against the best team in the country, that was bigger and more athletic than us, much less on a day where we were 1 for 19 on 3s through 34 minutes or so. But we did. We wanted it more and we fought for it more. Even when it looked like all the fight was just about closing the margin and not getting us to the finish first. I don’t know whether Hurley recruits players with more desire or helps them develop the desire, but we wanted it much more than they did. Diving for loose balls, saving balls from going out of bounds, running breakaways down from behind, playing through adversity, etc.
2. We won the game because we were more experienced. It should be becoming clear to anyone who cares that it’s unlikely you’re going to win championships with the most talented players in the country because they are overwhelmingly freshmen. Scheyer is now trying to do what Calapari failed with. And there’s no reason to think Scheyer will be more successful at it given that Calapari proved he could actually coach coaching friggin UMass into a national powerhouse. While they had a team of players with little or no experience prior to this season, even with Reed and Solo on the bench for the last 10 seconds, we put out a team with 2 seniors, 2 juniors and 1 freshman (someone had to take the last shot). Experience matters, both in learning how you close games out intellectually and learning how to deal with the pressure emotionally.
3. We won the game because Hurley was the better coach. He helped keep our guys from folding after smarter kids should have given up. (I’ll be honest — I thought we were done at the half. Did not see a comeback.). And whatever defensive adjustment he made at the half — I think it was to switch less and rotate less and give up outside shots without running around so much they were all wide open at once — worked. Scheyer had nothing to get his team playing again when everyone but Cam Boozer stopped playing.
4. We won because the refs let us. Yes, there were blown calls both ways (Boozer got away with an obvious charge and Foster a flagrant on that pushoff, but Reibe got away with a flagrant when he blackened Boozer’s eye) but overall I thought they were fair. But I said before the game that, other than Cam Boozer, my biggest worry was a huge FT disparity or quick fouls on our bigs that cut into their minutes. Well, that didn’t happen. They only had 5 more FT attempts and 4 more FTs made than us, and Reed got 32 minutes in with 3 fouls and Karaban 38 minutes with 2. The refs didn’t take the game away from us. Duke came very close to beating us but the refs didn’t. Thank goodness.
Having said all that, I still don’t get how we won. They outshot us percentage wise at all three levels, they outrebounded us by 6, they had 1 more assist. Yes, we had only 5 turnovers to their 16, and 2 more blocks, but those stats in totality don’t explain the one stat that explains how we won — we got 16 more shots than them. Plus 16 in shot attemps while being outrebounded. The numbers don’t add up (or my math skills are far worse than I think). And the biggest irony of the last ten seconds — we weren’t looking to get a steal and a desperation 3 up. We were just trying to commit a quick foul and put them in a 1 and 1. Who was it that first said “I’d rather be lucky than good.”
So maybe it was just luck. And Duke fans can look at the end and Ken Pom this morning and say well, we’re better and if we got another chance we’d beat them. Even if I ignore that this was their third straight loss to us in the tourney (all in great games) and how many chances do you want, the response to that is so what. Here’s the one stat worth a damn. On Saturday evening, we play 1 game against Illinois and they play 0.
Onward. This will not be an easy game against the Illini, but I like our chances a heck of a lot more than I liked them yesterday against Duke. Go Huskies.
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